


spring breeze

by sandraxxii



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 17:04:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21285152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandraxxii/pseuds/sandraxxii
Summary: the first fanfic ive ever written. pota wag nyo masyado husgahan. self rate: 3/10-translations:vietnamese
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 7
Kudos: 135





	spring breeze

**Author's Note:**

> the first fanfic ive ever written. pota wag nyo masyado husgahan. self rate: 3/10  
-  
translations:
> 
> [vietnamese](https://planetno6104.wordpress.com/2019/01/23/trans-gap-em-vao-mua-xuan/amp/?__twitter_impression=true)

* * *

**_spring _**  
  
It was a beautiful spring day. He held the warm mug close to his chest as he watched people passed by the coffee shop in a daze which he couldn't understand because it was Sunday, on a beautiful spring day. _Aren't people supposed to be more relaxed on Sundays?_

He glanced to his right, eyes landing on someone. A guy was sitting three chairs from him. The chairs between them were unoccupied and Chanyeol silently wished that it remained like that for a while.

The guy was smiling at his phone, maybe reading something slightly funny or maybe he received a text from his lover. Chanyeol preferred the first one. Because he was bitter like that. _How could someone have a beautiful lover like you_, he wanted to ask. He took a sip of his coffee which tasted just like him: bitter.

He focused his eyes on his mug but his self-control lasted five seconds. He looked sideways, the guy three chairs from him had his own gravitational pull, he reasoned.

The guy did a small wave, looking across the glass wall. Chanyeol followed his eyes and saw a golden retriever passing by following its owner. _Could you be any cuter_, he wanted to ask again.

The guy fumbled with his phone for a second before he managed to snap a photo of the golden retriever. His face so bright when he smiled as he successfully captured it. _Your face is so beautiful, please don't stop smiling,_ he wanted to say out loud. But as if on cue, the guy frowned. Still looking at his phone, the lines between his eyebrows deepened.

Chanyeol thought he was too creepy, staring at someone for more than one minute but he couldn't take his eyes away. He wanted to ask the guy what was wrong. Did he receive a bad news? A text from a lover? _If that was me I'll make sure not to make him sad,_ he thought.

He looked away to shake his thoughts out of his head. It lasted 10 seconds. What a progress, really.

He looked at the guy again. Funny how the guy hadn't notice Chanyeol's creepy stares. The guy's hand was empty, maybe he stuffed his phone away on his jacket pocket. He was looking outside but Chanyeol knew he was looking at nothing in particular because his eyes were empty. Chanyeol could only wish for a poodle to pass by right now, or maybe a corgi. On second thought maybe a husky because maybe the guy preferred bigger dogs, just to divert his attention and maybe he could smile again because Chanyeol liked his smiling face.

Chanyeol contemplated if he should walk over, introduce himself, get the guy's number, ask him on a date and promise to buy him a dog. _What if he says he's in a relationship?_ Then Chanyeol would ask him if he could steal him away from his lover. Chanyeol had many questions to ask. _What's your name? Where do you li-_

His brain stopped functioning because the guy turned his head slowly then his eyes met Chanyeol's. Actually, the guy didn't really turn his head that slow, it was on normal speed, it was just Chanyeol's brain playing tricks on him, recreating movie scenes and such.

"One Venti White Chocolate Mocha to go, for Baekhyun."

The moment was gone when the guy stood up, tearing his eyes away from Chanyeol but Chanyeol kept on staring at him as he walked to the counter, as he claimed his coffee, and as he pushed the door open, throwing one more curious glance at Chanyeol before he was gone, away with the people who passed by the coffee shop.

"Baekhyun." He wrote the name on the table, practicing the strokes using the tip of his finger.

He held the mug close to his lips. That was exactly what Chanyeol liked about coffee shops, bookstores, bus stops, train stations, and even public parks. When you look around, you would see something or in his case today, someone interesting. When you were lucky enough, like in his case today, you might share a moment. But that was it.

Just a moment.

But still a moment nevertheless.

But then again, it would be just a moment. Even if his brain malfunctioned for two seconds because of that quick eye contact, it was just a moment. A moment that he would soon forget. Maybe it would stay for a while, but he would forget it over time.

Maybe if he did something, like introducing himself they could have a moment longer than two seconds but he didn't because he thought it was not worth it.

And he still thought that it was not worth it because it was just the weather, the season, that made him feel like he wanted to engage with people like he wanted to fall in love.

Also, he didn't like the idea of love at first sight, happening in a coffee shop because that was so cliche and Chanyeol hated cliches.

Also, he was right. It was just the season. It was because it was spring and 85% of people in Seoul falls in love during this season according to him.

And he wasn't a part of that 85%. He wanted to belong to that 3.5% who falls in love during a snowstorm on a winter night.

And he definitely didn't imagine a guy named Baekhyun wrapped in brown trenchcoat over layers of thick sweater sitting beside him during a snowstorm on a winter night. No, he did not.

He stood up and put his mug on the return table near the counter, inhaling the scent of coffee one last time before he pushed the door. He turned back looking at his hand holding the door handle and slowly letting it go as he stepped outside.

He inhaled the spring breeze, holding his breath for five seconds before he exhaled as he looked up at the sun. _If that guy named Baekhyun smiles at me like the way he smiled at a dog passing by, will he shine as bright as the sun_? He asked while closing his eyes.

He walked away, trying to empty his mind.

_Probably_. He answered himself.

He looked back to no one and nothing in particular as he rounded the corner.

_He could easily outshine the sun._

* * *

** _summer_ **

It was the beginning of summer, green trees covered most places of the park, when Chanyeol did a double-take, blinking rapidly as he tried to squint through the window of the bus when he saw him again.

Chanyeol was sitting on a single seat by the window of the bus. His eyes were actually looking up admiring the green trees when the bus slowed down and turned left. He looked downwards, his eyes landed on someone so familiar. That someone happened to exit the door of a convenient store, holding bottled water. _That_ someone stopped in front of the pedestrian lane on the road in front of the store. He was wearing a white V-neck shirt and shorts, looking like he just finished a jog. He was waiting for the light to change, Chanyeol's bus stopped and the familiar guy walked and crossed the street after looking on both sides of the road.

After his initial shock, Chanyeol contemplated because he strangely had the urge to hop off the bus, cross the street, walk around the whole block so maybe he could have a chance to bump into the guy like a coincidence.

Yes, he would walk around the block, he wouldn't walk in the same direction as the guy. No, he would not follow him, Chanyeol wasn't that kind of creep.

In the end, Chanyeol didn't hop off the bus. Because the stoplight lasted less than a minute, and that was a big decision to make, and Chanyeol needed at least 5 minutes to decide about things like that. The word 'that' meant his love life.

Also, Chanyeol didn't hop off the bus because he had a restaurant to run. He had people to instruct. He didn't have time to spare. Although he would admit, a second or a split second of eye contact with the guy was really tempting. It was more or less two months ago when he had first seen him at a coffee shop not far away from where he saw him now.

_Maybe he lives nearby._

Chanyeol's thoughts were interrupted when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and saw a woman smiling at him. He stood up from his seat and gestured for the woman to sit. He heard the woman laugh so he looked at her face curiously.

"Chanyeol, I didn't mean for you to give up your seat. I'm getting off on the 3rd stop from here." The woman said but took the seat anyway.

He felt like a dick because the woman looked familiar but he couldn't remember her name or where they'd met. So he settled with an awkward laugh, "I'm hopping off the next stop so, it's fine." And he ended it with a toothy smile and he hoped it looked genuine.

The woman smiled at him but eyed him mischievously. "You don't remember me, do you?" Chanyeol closed his eyes in embarrassment. He shook his head slowly. "Chanyeol, we went on a date three weeks ago."

Chanyeol really just wanted the bus to fly to his stop so he could get off and avoid this situation.

Chanyeol went to several blind dates this year, he could not remember any of their names, much more their faces. They were all faceless.

His sister obliged him to go to those blind dates which were set up by her. She said that she was just worried about him, thinking now that she was already married and had settled down, she couldn't spend time with him, and that he needed someone who would take care of him.

But Chanyeol knew that she was just bored, staying at home and nursing her newborn baby, so she constantly set Chanyeol up for dates so he could call her afterward and complain about his date. Because Chanyeol's misery was Yoora's entertainment.

Channeling his attention back to the woman, despite being uncomfortable, he changed the topic and tried his best for small talk. He even talked about the weather and how the temperature had risen as the day passed by and how it affected his food preference and he continued talking about nonsensical things because he was awkward and weird like that but deep inside he just wanted to hop off the bus.

He continued blabbering about how the parking spaces in front of his restaurant should be repainted because the yellow paint is coming off when he saw that his stop is only a few meters away.

He did a countdown in his head.

3, 2, 1.

The bus stopped.

"Hey, anyway it's good to see you. I'm getting off here. Have a nice day..." He wanted to address the woman's name but he still couldn't remember shit. Instead, he just smiled genuinely because he was in fact genuinely happy because finally, he could flee.

Chanyeol exhaled loudly when he hopped off. He walked ahead for a few meters and crossed the street.

He entered the restaurant and walked straight to the kitchen, the staffs were busy getting ready so they didn't notice him when he passed by, he climbed the stairs to his office and only when his shoes hit the stairs loudly because he was almost running, the staff looked back and greeted him. He greeted back as he opened the door to his office, he left the door open, letting the smell from the kitchen relax him.

They have one hour before they open. Chanyeol was lying down the couch, his legs dangling, his body in an awkward position. He realized he needed a longer couch.

He closed his eyes as he heard someone climbing up the stairs.

"Hey Park, are you okay?" He heard Jongdae asked after he knocked on the wall and came in.

Chanyeol just hummed in response, eyes closed. He felt Jongdae kicking the side of the couch to annoy him but he just groaned, eyes still closed.

"I'd like to remind you that your mother is coming today so you better tell me what's up so you won't space out later. Just talk. I have an hour."

He sighed, "It wasn't a big deal." He opened his eyes and saw Jongdae opening the window letting the fresh air in. "I bumped into someone today, we went on a date three weeks ago and I can't remember her name. It was so awkward. I hate being awkward. " He sighed again. "It took a lot of self-control not to jump off the window of the bus, Dae."

Jongdae looked back at him, smirking. "I thought you wanted to run away because she doesn't have a dick."

Chanyeol reached out for his shoes, took it off and threw it to Jongdae's direction. "I don't like you very much. Leave me alone."

His friend was able to catch it and aimed to throw it out the window, laughing. Chanyeol yelled at him so he threw it back to him instead, it landed on his crotch. "That's it? I know you hate being awkward and being a dick or something, but the girl didn't really care about you that much anyway, I assume? So you should move on."

Chanyeol had a dilemma if he should tell Jongdae about the guy, "There's one more thing."

On his peripheral vision, he saw Jongdae snapped his head looking back at him, raising both his palms and rubbing it together. "This is it. That's the tea. Let's hear it." He said as he sat on Chanyeol's chair, acting like a boss.

Wrong move. Chanyeol changed his mind. He wouldn't tell Jongdae. It was not a good idea. Jongdae would misinterpret it and he would tease him and he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Park, you going to start talking or do I need to shove all these things off of your table dramatically like they do in the movies."

Chanyeol slowly looked sideways and saw Jongdae, arms extended forward like he was about to demonstrate a butterfly stroke above his table.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Alright. Listen, do you remember the guy I-"

Jongdae tapped the table loudly, "The guy you saw at the coffee shop. Brown hair, button nose, droopy eyes, overall pretty face. Aha! I knew it. Ok, what about him?"

Chanyeol sat up. Eyebrows furrowed. "How come you remember those things?" He is clearly taken aback because Jongdae? Of all people? Remember that?

Chanyeol couldn't even remember that he told Jongdae about the guy. And Jongdae? His friend for so many years who, for some reason, -maybe brain damage or memory loss,- always failed to remember Chanyeol's birth date.

Jongdae just smirked at him. "Of course I remember. Contrary to popular belief, I do listen when people talk to me, okay. But, what I forgot was the title of the song playing in the coffee shop that day. What was that again, Park?"

Chanyeol, stared at the ceiling for 10 seconds, whacking his brain while trying to remember the song, "It was a song by that guy who won that singing contest years ago, it goes like this," Chanyeol hummed the tune until Jongdae nodded. "You know that song?"

"Yeah, it sounds familiar. Anyway, what's the guy's name again?" Jongdae asked, smiling fondly.

Chanyeol didn't need to look at the ceiling this time because he remembered the name clearly. But he didn't say it out loud immediately. He squinted his eyes at his friend across the room. "I'm not telling you."

His friend just laughed loudly. "You think I don't remember? Of course, I remember his name, I asked you just to check if YOU remember it. And you do." Jongdae stood up and walked around the table, sitting on it while facing Chanyeol, "Not only that, you even remember the song playing, our Chanyeollie is crushing on someone." He laughed before he continued, "And Park, seriously, how could I forget that when your eyes were shining and blinking beautifully while telling me about h-"

Jongdae wasn't able to finish his sentence when Chanyeol threw both his shoes in his direction, one landing on his friend's neck, the other landing on his face effectively shutting his mouth up.

Maybe his day would have been better if only he decided to jump off the bus through the window when the woman --with the name Chanyeol couldn't remember,-- began to talk to him. Or if we could rewind it a few more seconds before that, he could have gotten off the bus and followed the guy who Chanyeol -surely definitely swear to God and all the saints- wasn't crushing on.

Yes. Any of the two scenarios would better than talking to Jongdae right now.

But, on second thought, he did the right decision. Because seeing the coffee shop guy face to face on a summer day would be a bad idea. Chanyeol refused to see anyone as attractive as the guy on a bright summer day no matter how good the weather was. He didn't want to fall in love in the first week of June.

Imagine asking someone on a date, and going out on a hot summer night, all sweaty and exhausted after walking 100 meters, no thank you. Chanyeol hated summer.

So yes. Chanyeol did the right decision.

But if his thoughts were ruled out by the coffee shop guy with brown hair, button nose, droopy eyes, nobody could blame him. The guy was attractive. Maybe his brain couldn't register any more visual information or just any kind of information because the guy used a lot of his memory storage. That would be the only logical explanation of why the few people he dated had become faceless and nameless.

Still, whatever attraction he was feeling right now, --which he was sure, just a tiny bit or close to nothing-- he needed to control or much better, just ignore altogether.

He had a lot to do today, and he wanted to forget anything that happened this morning.

Jongdae humming that certain spring song while walking out of his office clearly wasn't helping.

  
  


* * *

  
** _autumn_ **

It was a beautiful but chilly autumn night, Chanyeol was standing beside the escalator outside the subway station. He was in a default bad mood because his sister, again, had set him up on a blind date. He checked his phone to read Yoora's text again, just to make sure he was standing in the right exit as his date was supposed to arrive any minute now. He checked the time, 5:50 pm. He was quite early.

Yoora said that his date tonight was an important person and that he should bring a lot of money and also his credit cards.

Chanyeol thought that was being a voluntary victim of voice phishing right now. Maybe the important person would meet him and ask him to withdraw all his savings. Should he call Yoora? Maybe getting robbed wasn't so bad at all. He could just give his wallet and go home because the first thing he wanted to do was to go to bed and the last thing was, well, going on a date with --as Yoora said-- very important person.

He checked the time again, 5:56.

He decided to text Yoora.

** _ I'm already here. And I still don't understand why you wanted me to wear this ugly sweater. I look like a fucking tree._ **

He put his phone on the back pocket of his dark brown pants and tried to dust off his very comfy but ugly green knitted sweater.

He almost got a heart attack when he felt someone's hands circling his waist, locking him into a back hug. "What the -"

"Hi."

He exhaled loudly, holding his chest, trying to keep his heart in place. He turned around, "I hate you. I really hate you."

"I miss you too. Give me a kiss." Yoora said, tugging the front of his sweater.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes and kissed her on the forehead before he hugged her properly.

"You seem so happy to see me." She said as they pulled apart.

He smiled at his sister, "Yes I am happy. You almost gave me a heart attack but at least I wouldn't have to be with this important person you set me up with." He stopped in his tracks. "Wait. Are we meeting her now?" Chanyeol asked and scrunched his face.

Yoora just laughed as she linked her hand around Chanyeol's arm. They walked along the streets of Myeongdong. "I am the important person." She looked up at him, grinning. Chanyeol thought it was unfair how she looked so much younger than him, which could be explained by where they were right now. They were in one of the best shopping districts in Seoul. Maybe he should buy some skincare products for himself to have a younger glowing skin like his sister. "Did you bring your wallet?" She asked.

Chanyeol nodded. "Yes."

Yoora pulled him into a makeup store, "Good. Now, spoil me."

*

Chanyeol was holding a small basket full of colored pencils. He spent 30 minutes following Yoora. They were in the second store now. He spent almost a hundred dollars on the first store with all those things that looked like watercolors. Now he assumed he would spend a hundred more for these things that looked like colored pencils. He was not complaining though.

He just wanted this shopping to be over so they could eat already because he was starving. Chanyeol's original plan was to take his date to dinner and just go home.

Yoora walked toward him and put five more black pencils. "What are those?"

"Eyeliners."

"Why do you need so many?"

Instead of answering him, Yoora turned around and walked toward the face masks section.

Chanyeol watched how his sister picked a lot of face masks. He needed to stop his sister. Seriously. Now he understood why one of his Chefs, Kim Minseok, told him that he would hold his girlfriend's hands not because he wanted to be sweet and romantic but because he was preventing his girlfriend from picking or reaching for anything that he would end up paying. That would be a good strategy.

He went to get one more basket because there was no way the face masks were going to fit in the basket he was currently holding. The basket was too small to begin with. He was about to get one more but he saw a staff talking to Yoora, offering her a box of face masks. _Great_.

If he was going to spend a lot on this, he should get something in return. Maybe ask Yoora to manage the restaurant for a week? Not possible though. She was too busy these days.

Maybe ask her to give him the handwritten cookbook their grandmother gave her on her 16th birthday. She'd been hiding it from him. So selfish. Their grandmother had given it to the wrong kid. He should have it. He was the one running a restaurant after all.

Or maybe he could ask Yoora to stop setting him up on blind dates.

Yes.

That had to stop. Because no one and nothing could decide or interfere or affect his love life. No one could decide who it was gonna be, when it would happen, and where, and most importantly, how.

Okay, no more blind dates. He would stop Yoora. That sounded like a good plan.

But for now, he handed Yoora his credit card while she was checking out at the counter.

He would hold Yoora's hands after this. If the reaching for colorful things persists, he would even hold her arms. Two hundred fifty dollars was more than enough.

*

"Chanyeol, let go of my hand."

No way he was going to comply. Three hours and three hundred dollars later, he just couldn't take it anymore. He was starving. "No. I'm hungry. Let's go." He checked his watch, lucky enough, they had less than an hour until Viva Polo closes. He wasn't in the mood to eat other food anyway. He decided to take Yoora there since it had been a long time since she last visited the place.

"Okay, okay. Stop. Let's just go inside the Nature Republic. I'm not gonna buy anything I promise I just want to check those new sunscreens," Yoora said, pulling her left hand from Chanyeol's unforgiving grip.

"Fine." He led the way inside the shop without letting go of his sister's hand. Minseok's strategy was working surprisingly well. This way, Yoora can only look at the products without touching, because if you touch something, the staffs would march on to your direction and offer you not only the product that you were eyeing but a whole lot of package which would cost you a hundred.  
"Noona, we're gonna have dinner at Viva, is that okay?"

"Sure."

"We need to get there now, though." He said, looking back at his sister who was busy eyeing the displays.

Yoora tugged her hand from his, "Okay, give me a minute."

He let go of Yoora's hand to pick his phone from his pocket to shoot Jongdae a text just to inform him that he would go back to the restaurant with Yoora. He groaned in frustration because he couldn't type a single word without a typo because people kept on bumping into his elbows and they also managed to push him all the way near the exit without him realizing.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Yoora's hands picking up a black pencil which he just learned as eyeliner. Thanks to Yoora and also to the staff from the previous store who gave him a five-minute lecture about eye care.

"You already bought a lot of those." He reminded her, lifting the paper bags in his left hand to prove his point while he typed a reply to Jongdae's message.

He opened another unread message from his friend Jongin who was asking about his chef Kyungsoo when he saw Yoora's hand putting the eyeliner back and slowly reaching for a different one. He pocketed his phone and reached out to grab her hand again stopping her midway. "No. We need to go. We need to eat dinner now," He pulled Yoora to the exit. He felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket as they walked to the direction of the subway. He didn't bother to pick his phone up. He couldn't let go of his sister's hand until they were out of the Myeongdong premises. It was probably just a text from Jongdae anyway, telling him to hurry up.

When they were about to ride the escalator going to the entrance of the subway, he finally had the chance to let go of Yoora's hands and checked his phone to read Jongdae's text and put it back in his pocket again. "You're lucky Kyungsoo's still in the restaurant, I asked him to cook your favorite before he clocks out." He grabbed Yoora's hand again, "By the way, Jongdae will join us. And some of the staffs, it's almost closing time anyway." He said as he pulled Yoora to the platform of subway line 4, "Noona, I may or most probably may not have cleaned my apartment, this is a surprise visit so you're not allowed to complain or anything. Mom already castigated me enough for this year. You're crashing at my place tonight, right?"

When Yoora still didn't respond, Chanyeol looked back and just like that, without a prompt, without preamble, without foreword or anything, he got attacked by the sun at 10 in the evening.

The sun was smiling so wide and biting his lower lip. Maybe the sun wasn't smiling, maybe the sun was trying so hard to stop himself from laughing that was why he was biting his lower lip.

The sun was staring at their joined hands, Chanyeol wasn't able to process anything, what he did know was that he was being attacked right now. And Yoora was nowhere to be found. _Where the hell is Park Yoora?_

When the sun began to laugh, Chanyeol wanted to cry.

The sun was laughing so loud, attracting people's attention but nobody seemed to mind because the sun, albeit loud, was beautiful. So beautiful. Chanyeol really wanted to cry.

"Hi," The sun breathed after his laughing fit.

"Hello." Chanyeol responded just as breathless. He felt his throat closing up.

The sun looked down at their hands again, "As you can see, I'm not your Noona. Aren't you planning to let go of my hand any time soon?" He looked up and smiled so wide, knocking the air out of Chanyeol's lungs.

Finally, after 30 seconds, Chanyeol's brain began to function, he let go of the other's hand. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, I thought you're Yoora, I don't know what happened. I don't know how this happened." _And I don't know how I managed to see you every fucking season,_ he wanted to add but fortunately, his brain was functioning so he was able to filter that out. "Seriously. I-, I don't-, wait," he stopped and just breathed for a minute because he felt like his internal organs were giving out. "Wait, did I really dragged you here from-"

The other raised his hand to stop Chanyeol from rambling. The hands were beautiful. No wonder he'd mistaken it for Yoora's. "Look, I'm sorry too." He smiled again. Chanyeol wanted to punch himself. "Sorry I didn't pull my hand away earlier. We were heading in the same direction anyway so I'm sorry I didn't pull my hand at all." Chanyeol looked at the other's hands again, only the tips of his fingers were visible, too much for sweater paws. Which reminded him of his own sweater. He was wearing an ugly sweater today out of all the autumn days, the universe hated him and he wanted to scream. "Anyway, you can't really blame me, after all, you bribed me. You mentioned dinner." He was biting his lower lip again, Chanyeol's heartbeat stuttered.

"We can do that." Of course, in this crucial time, his mouth worked faster than his brain. "I mean, you know." Chanyeol wanted to say something more, something that would make sense, but he was completely lost.

He couldn't believe he got to look at the other's eyes like this. He forgot how beautiful Baekhyun was. He regretted not getting off the bus that particular day last summer. Most of all, he regretted how he refused to entertain the idea of falling in love that particular day last spring. But that was not important anymore, because he had autumn. Maybe it wouldn't matter if it was during a cliche spring day or during a heatwave. Maybe he could fall in love as the leaves fall in the middle of fall. Maybe it was the universe telling him to just throw his heart out in the open, preferably in front of Baekhyun and hope for the best.

His phone vibrated in his pocket but he ignored it. However, the robotic voice announcing the arrival of the train snapped them out of their bubble.

"We-"

"I-"

They were both startled when they spoke at the same time. Baekhyun just laughed it off. Chanyeol scratched the back of his neck while looking at Baekhyun. "Sorry. You first,"

The other waited for a while, took his time staring at Chanyeol's eyes like he was searching for something in there before speaking, "I was just about to say that I'm hopping into that train." Baekhyun said and like on cue, the train stopped and waited for a beat before opening the automatic doors.

Chanyeol panicked. Usually, in a situation like this, he would need a good 30 seconds to organize the words in his head but the universe was cruel, the universe was playing with him.

"Look, if you're not opposed to the idea, maybe we could really grab that dinner I mentioned earlier, you know, maybe meet up somewhere," people walking out of the train flooded the platform, the movements in his peripheral were messing up with his concentration. Baekhyun took a step back, "Also, I'm really sorry for holding your hand just like that, I didn't know, I honestly didn't know," Chanyeol said, his feet voluntarily stepped forward, following Baekhyun. His eyes were scanning Baekhyun's face to commit it to his memory, "You're so beautiful." He stopped in his tracks when he realized he said it out loud. He closed his eyes and cursed himself internally.

_This is it. The fuckening. This is when everything will go downhill_.

The sun would assume that Chanyeol was a creep. A weirdo. The sun would not shine again. Maybe he was meant to be with the moon. Maybe that would do. The moon was also beautiful. But the moon didn't have its own light. Chanyeol wanted the sun. He wouldn't settle for anything less.

He opened his eyes again and saw the sun grinning at him.

"What's your name?" The sun asked boldly like he was demanding him to answer as quickly as possible.

"Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol." He wanted to state his age, his nickname, his favorite movie, and his favorite song, and he also wanted to ask Baekhyun the same thing but as he said, the universe was cruel and time wasn't on his side.

Baekhyun stepped inside the train, he turned around, got a tight grip on the handle beside the door and he stared back at Chanyeol.

They stared at each other, waiting for the doors to close in front of them. Both of them not caring about the curious looks of the people inside the train. Baekhyun was looking at him like he was contemplating if Chanyeol deserved to know his name or not. Because he didn't know Chanyeol already knew his name. He didn't know this was the third time Chanyeol laid his eyes on him.

The train rattled.

"Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun." He bit his lower lip again, the doors about to close, "The next time we meet, I'll demand that dinner." As if all the laughing, grinning and smiling wasn't enough, this time he smirked at Chanyeol. The doors began to close, "And maybe after that, I'll let you hold my hand again."

_Is Baekhyun flirting? with me? Is this really happening?_

Chanyeol should flirt back and he was about to do just that. He opened his mouth to say something but the doors closed entirely. The last thing he saw was Baekhyun's face grinning at him from inside the train.

"The next time we meet, I won't let you get away again, Baekhyun." He mumbled to himself.

Chanyeol wasn't sure exactly when he started to be optimistic but he had a good feeling about this. The universe was cruel and frisky but this time he will trust the process. They managed to be in the exact same place at the exact same time, three times this year. They would meet again.

His phone vibrated again to bring him back to the present. He read the text from Yoora, telling him to quit hiding and lend her his card because apparently, she needed to buy the sunscreen to protect her from the autumn sun.

He couldn't believe what he just read.

_Autumn sun. Really? _He smiled at his phone. He walked back to the shopping district, he almost laughed when he passed by the spot beside the escalator. Four hours ago he was standing there waiting.

He looked up at the starless sky.

_Will you give him to me?_ He silently asked the universe.

_Whatever. I'll get him anyway._

* * *

** _winter_ **

"Can you like, stop bawling. I'm trying to eat here."

Chanyeol and Jongdae decided to eat lunch outside for once. The latter accused him of being brokenhearted, which of course he denied. And no, nobody was bawling here.

They were in a restaurant three blocks away from Viva, a western-inspired restaurant where he had taken almost half of his blind dates.

"I didn't know being quiet is the same as bawling now." He countered.

His friend glanced at him, eyes judging. "Well, you're being loud. Your silence is so so loud, Park. I can hear you sulking right here across the table." Jongdae sighed dramatically. "And if you're done eating, put that fork down."

He ignored his friend and proceeded to align the corn kernels on his plate. They were in a triangle formation now because he thought the straight line earlier wouldn't defeat the big slice of potato he had placed on the other side of the plate. "I'm not sulking." He argued half-heartedly. He was just not in the mood today. Hadn't been these last few weeks, honestly.

"Please. You've been distant since the snow started falling a couple of weeks ago. You love the snow, Chanyeol. You love winter so much, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned skiing in Japan yet." Jongdae waved his spoon in front of Chanyeol's face. "You're missing that spark in your eyes, which should have made an appearance during the first snow. You always act like summer came early during the first snow, so what went wrong this year? It's winter but your whole being screams vehement. Sentimental. Emotional. You're stuck in autumn." It was Jongdae's fork, pointing at him.

He sighed loudly. "I'm just- I don't know. I'm frustrated, I guess." He finally picked up the potato and shoved it into his mouth just to stop him from saying more nonsense because he was not emotional, no.

Jongdae's eyebrows formed a straight line, "Frustrated." His friend repeated. "Frustrated about what exactly?"

He just exhaled and shrugged-- a poor attempt to drop the topic off. Until Jongdae had enough of his shit and kicked his ankle under the table. He yelped and glared at Jongdae. "Because Seoul suddenly became big." He blurts out. "Seoul is too big." He said--sulked-- as he rested his temple against the glass wall, feeling the coldness from outside. It had started snowing an hour ago.

"Seoul is quite big, sure. I still don't know why it bothers you though." Jongdae picked up his napkin to wipe his mouth but his hands stopped in the air, "Oh." His eyes immediately grew bigger. "Oh! I know! I know now!" His eyes were full of mirth. It was him who looks like summer came early.

Chanyeol reached out and nudged his friend's elbow, making Jongdae slap his own face with the napkin he was holding. "Wipe your mouth first, pig."

Jongdae wiped not only his mouth but his whole face exaggeratedly, he ended up laughing at his own antics. "So, that's what it's about. You haven't seen him again yet." Jongdae covered his face with his palms as he laughed. "You havt esb met sgh shsqjj hhshshs."

Nothing came out but a muffled voice and Chanyeol did not understand a thing. "What did you say?" It was Chanyeol's turn to kick Jongdae's foot this time, asking him impatiently.

"I said you haven't even moved past being strangers yet but you're right here acting like the puppy broke up with you already." He said, shaking his head and covering his face, still laughing.

Chanyeol rolled his eyes and ignored his friend as he askes for the bill. "He's not a puppy." He argued.

"Whatever. You turned down a beautiful girl two weeks ago at the bar, saying she looked too colorful and you wanted a bare-faced puppy, no less. Your words, not mine. Although I agree, the girl wore too much makeup but that's beside the point." Jongdae pulled enough bills from his wallet, signaling Chanyeol not to bother. "I'm paying now. You pay next time when you're not so sad anymore. Anyway, did you know Minseok considered buying you a puppy for Christmas? Good thing I was there. I told him the puppy you like is in fact, human. He tried to ask for more information but I refrained from telling him anything because I'm not a big mouth like what you take me for, Park. I can keep secrets." He said with a smug smile.

"You said so many things that didn't even help make Seoul any smaller." He complained as he stood up, walking over to the coat rack near the door. "What's the point of everything if I'm not gonna see him again?" Chanyeol knew he was being whiny, he couldn't help it though.

"You know, for a person who swore he doesn't want anything serious, you look a lot like serious. You look more serious than me, and I have a girlfriend." Jongdae rambled as he put on his coat. "You don't think this person is your soulmate or something, do you?"

Chanyeol put on his scarf, maneuvering it so it could cover his neck and half of his face. "No." _Yes_.

Jongdae smirked at him. "I know you, Park. You're the kind of person who believes in soulmates and shit. Come to think of it, you pulled his hand out of a crowded place, unintentionally, like, man. I can't stress that enough. That's some kind of movie scene right there."

They opened the door and braved the cold, unforgiving weather. They only had to walk three blocks to get back to Viva. Jongdae cursed under his breath. His friend never liked winter.

"What are you gonna do when you see him again?" Jongdae asked, bumping his shoulder.

"Dinner. I owe him dinner." The memories of that one autumn night flooded his mind. He hid his smile underneath the scarf, just to turn it into a grimace seconds after because _where on the earth is that guy_? Chanyeol didn't know him and Jongdae was right. They were not past being strangers. They only knew each other's names. Chanyeol had seen him only a total of three times. He had talked to him once. It wasn't even a proper conversation.

"Right." Jongdae clung to his shoulder as they walked on a slippery path. "I still don't understand why you didn't hop into the train with him. Yoora will kill you for leaving her but she is your sister, she'll live. Also, you're stupid for not getting his number."

It was not an unknown fact that Chanyeol's brain sometimes -always- had some shortcomings. Also, that time, he thought that Seoul was small and wouldn't get any bigger any time soon. Also, maybe half of Chanyeol believed in soulmates and shit. "My brain short-circuited." Chanyeol was stupid. But he was also an optimist. "But I'll see him again. I can feel it. I'll see him again before this year ends."

"Okay. Let's pretend you have a lot of time and new year isn't two weeks from now."

"I don't need your negativity, Jongdae."

Jongdae ignored him as he opened the door to Viva Polo, busy thanking the gods for the warm air inside the restaurant and the smell of pasta.

*

Jongdae's negativity rubbed off on him.

It was new year's eve, Chanyeol was in a pub that Jongin owned. People around him were dancing the night away as they waited for the clock to strike twelve.

He usually loved this. He loved people. He loved observing people. He loved parks, coffee shops, pubs, airports. He loved crowded places.

He looked around. There was Kyungsoo. And Minseok who invited some --a lot-- of their friends from culinary school. Jongdae's apartment was originally the venue for tonight but Minseok had announced the supposed to be a very small party to a wrong group chat and ended up inviting the culinary grads batch 2014. Kyungsoo and Minseok ended up having a small reunion with their chef-mates here in Jongin's pub.

The point was, Jongdae's negativity finally was rubbing off on him.

He wouldn't see coffee shop puppy guy-- his one and only potential love interest this year. It was time to move on.

"So, Park, who are you gonna kiss later?" Jongdae propped himself beside Chanyeol on their booth, holding a wine glass filled with a very suspicious green colored liquor, sporting his trademark smile. He was too happy for Chanyeol's liking.

Chanyeol squinted, eyes roaming around the pub. Nobody caught his attention. He was too sober for this. He shook his head enthusiastically and forced a smile, "No one. I've been here since 9 pm. It's already 11. I have nobody to kiss Jongdae. Kiss me later?" He batted his eyelashes exaggeratedly, smiling, showing his teeth.

Jongdae laughed at his face. Chanyeol wanted to punch the laugh off of his face but he wasn't drunk enough to blame it on the liquor. "Whyyy? Nobody passed your standards?" He chugged his green liquor in one shot. "Let's find someone for you later on the dance floor. But you have to lower your standards." Jongdae gave him a pointed look but he was too drunk he ended up looking like he was possessed by a happy demon who was trying so hard to glare at Chanyeol.

"Yeah. Whatever." Chanyeol dismissed. He stood up with a purpose. He would walk over to the far end of the pub where the drinks at, he would get drunk, and look for a moment. He hadn't had any moment with any person since spring. The coffee shop puppy guy raised his standards too much. But tonight, maybe he would find someone's eyes beautiful, maybe he would find someone with an attractive smile, maybe he would find someone who smells nice, or maybe someone with a pleasant voice. Anything. Chanyeol would not be choosy and he would make sure he wouldn't end up pining over someone he saw thrice. Fuck the universe. He just needed someone to kiss.

*  
*

The clock was about to strike twelve, Chanyeol was in the booth with Jongdae's friend, Sehun. He raised his beer mug as everyone screamed, counting down the seconds.

"4!"

"3!!"

"2."

"1!!"

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!"

Chanyeol chugged his beer. His situation wasn't that sad per se. It was rather okay-ish. But as his eyes roamed around the pub, seeing people kissing and sucking faces, it made him extra sad. And lonely. And emotional. And sentimental. _Fucking Jongdae_. He frowned.

His eyes landed on Sehun, the guy was currently video calling his boyfriend from China. Apparently, China guy couldn't make it back to Seoul as he got caught up with some business problems whatsoever in Beijing.

Chanyeol stared at Sehun for some time, watching him smile, laugh and giggle at every word the China guy with thick Korean accent says.

He knew that feeling and he missed it, that was why he had spent almost an hour on the dance floor but nobody made his heart flutter. Not even the not so subtle touches of all those strangers. Maybe he was just not in the mood. It was an off night for him.

He checked his phone and read his messages. He frowned at a particular message from Yoora saying that the -no-more-blind-dates deal expired yesterday, meaning a few minutes ago and that she would be in a new quest of finding the perfect person for him this year, hence, the blind dates would resume third week of January.

He was typing a message to Yoora when China guy laughed, he could hear it vaguely over the loud music in the pub. He looked over at Sehun, the guy had an awestruck expression, smiling like the meaning of life was written on his screen of his phone. Perhaps the meaning of the guy's life was really on the screen of his phone.

He abandoned his messenger and opened a new tab on google. He decided to spend this winter right. He booked a late flight to Japan, today at 8 pm, January 1st. The tickets were fucking expensive but whatever. Maybe he would find his own Japan guy there because fuck Seoul.

He felt slightly better after booking a flight. He took a screenshot of his flight details, sending it to Kasper. His friend Kasper was a choreographer and a definition of YOLO. Kasper was a good friend. Kasper would go with him.

He stood up to fetch himself another beer. He saw Jongdae and Minseok walking back to the booth. Minseok mouthed "Where are you going?" He raised his empty beer mug to answer.

He pushed his mug on the counter, "Hey, where's Jongin?" He asked the bartender as he settled himself on the available stool.

The bartender glanced at him, "I don't know. The last I saw him was before 12, he's with one of your friends." He refilled the mug as Chanyeol threw him a confused look. "You know, the small guy. Big eyes. The one who looks like he's always pissed." He added before he handed the beer to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol's jaw dropped. "Really?" _Kyungsoo is with Jongin? Really?_

The bartender shrugged.

Everyone's getting it, while he was here alone nursing his first beer of 2019. _Great_.

He handed his credit card and paid for his tab.

The stool next to the counter was comfortable enough he decided to finish his beer there. He looked back to their booth when someone stood directly in front of his face, making his vision blur, his eyes refocusing. A woman was standing in front of him and thank God she didn't look familiar, Chanyeol was sure he hadn't blind dated this woman before. Thank god Seoul is big.

"Hi." The woman chirped, voice too high. "Are you alone? Can I sit with you?" She batted her lashes, eyeing the empty stool next to him.

"Yeah. Sure."

The woman moved and sat next to him.  
It was all good until the woman began to talk to him, voice too high, face too colorful.

He ignored the woman and focused his attention on the bottles of liquor behind the bartender. His face scrunched involuntarily when the woman laughed, high pitched, on her own joke. He almost jumped when the woman touched his arm. The bartender snorted. Chanyeol looked at him, eyes pleading, silently asking for help. The guy just shrugged.

The woman was talking non-stop, Chanyeol threw his occasional _hmms_ and _yeah_ and _oh really_ when the conversation called for it.

He chugged the last of his beer, the woman signaled the bartender to refill Chanyeol's mug, Chanyeol panicked.

The bartender made no move, but leaned toward them, "Hey, Junyoung, I think your friend over there is looking for you," he said as he gestured to a random direction.

Chanyeol took the cue, he was the Junyoung. He smiled at the bartender. "Oh yeah, I need to go back to the booth." He stood up.

"What a shame." The woman said --whined--, "I'll see you later, Junyoung." She said seductively.

"Yeah, see you later." He offered before he walked back to the corner booth.

_More like see you never._

He checked his watch, it was just 1 am and he was not even drunk yet but he wanted to go home.

Only Sehun and Minseok were in the booth. Minseok was sleeping, leaning on Sehun's shoulder while the latter was still on the phone.

"Happy New Year, babe!" Sehun yelled. Minseok opened his eyes, checked his watch and threw a weird look at Sehun. "Seoul is one hour ahead." Sehun explained.

Minseok laughed out loud. They didn't have any idea why. He abruptly stopped laughing and leaned on Sehun's shoulder, closing his eyes again.

Chanyeol picked up his coat, "Hey, I'm gonna head out."

"Heading out with someone?" Asked the younger.

"No. Alone." He put his coat on. "Where's Jongdae?"

"With his girlfriend on the dance floor, I think." He lifted his phone near his face, "Babe, hold on." He whisper-yelled at China guy and glanced up at Chanyeol, "Someone's here earlier, asking about you, hyung."

Chanyeol checked his pocket for his wallet, his phone, and car keys, eyes scanning their table making sure he was not forgetting anything. "Who?" Is he supposed to meet someone here tonight? He whacked his brain, trying to remember.

"I don't know, even Jongdae hyung don't know the guy."

"A guy." He repeated. "A guy is looking for me?"

"Yeah. No, he's not looking for you, he saw you when you were over there with that girl." Sehun pointed at the direction of the counter. "He was asking about you. He asked if that girl was your girlfriend or something."

"What? Did he introduce himself? What's his name?" Chanyeol asked.

"He did, but I didn't catch his name. I was busy, you know." The younger reasoned, raising his phone, China guy was holding a wine bottle on the screen.

"And? Where did he go?" Chanyeol scanned the pub, looking for someone he might know.

"I don't know, he walked out when Jongdae hyung called him puppy."

He almost fainted because of whiplash when he looked back at Sehun. "Jongdae called him _what_?"

Chanyeol began to pray. His prayer only contained _oh god, please, oh my god, let it be real, let it be him, please, please, please._

"Jongdae hyung called him puppy," Sehun said louder.

Minseok opened his eyes, "Why would he call someone a puppy?" He asked Sehun.

"Hyung, we call you cat sometimes." Sehun answeres. Minseok laughed out loud again.

Chanyeol made his way to the dance floor looking for Jongdae. Thanks to his height, he located his friend quickly.

He walked toward his friend, avoiding people's elbows, and swatting random hands that touched his biceps, because no,_ I don't like yall._

He grabbed Jongdae's neck, dragging him to a less crowded spot near the counter, the girlfriend following.

He let go of Jongdae's neck, his friend turned around, annoyance evident on his face but he looked extremely excited the second he caught sight of Chanyeol.

Chanyeol was about to yell at him but his friend beat him to it, yelling "Yahhhh!" at Chanyeol's face and pulling him down by his ear. "Your puppy found you!" Jongdae whispered at his now injured ear.

"Wha-" His words got caught up in his throat when he felt someone's fingers intertwining with his own, gently tugging him.

He looked back, his heart jumped out.

Baekhyun offered a smile, a three hundred watts smile, lighting up the whole pub like the fucking sun that he was. "Sorry. I was late." He said, looking up at Chanyeol.

* * *

Baekhyun pulled him until they were outside the pub. They both cursed when they saw the thick snowflakes falling.

"Where are we going?" Chanyeol asked, fixing his scarf so it would cover his mouth. Honestly, he didn't really care where they would go, as long as he was with Baekhyun. He wanted to pinch himself just to make sure he was not dreaming but he thought the invisible needles poking into his skin was enough. It was so fucking cold, he couldn't feel his legs.

"I don't know." The other replied. "Is this okay?" He raised their intertwined hands. Chanyeol nodded happily because _yes let's hold each other's hands forever, Byun Baekhyun_. He stared at the guy in front of him. Baekhyun was wearing leather boots, washed-out jeans, and a beige turtleneck under his caramel-colored wool trench coat. The guy didn't even have a scarf. He was autumn photoshoot ready, but certainly not equipped for negative degrees weather. "It's so fucking cold. Why is it so cold, Park Chanyeol?" He complained.

Chanyeol wished he had the answers as Baekhyun looked into his eyes, teeth chattering, waiting for him to say something. "Winter." He murmured. Baekhyun barked a laugh and Chanyeol almost fainted because _holy shit, Baekhyun was so beautiful_. Still laughing, the guy leaned forward, resting his forehead on Chanyeol's chest. Chanyeol was about to explode, "Do you want to go back inside? You're freezing."

Baekhyun looked up at him, eyes teasing, "Let me remind you that you owe me a proper dinner. But I guess pub food is okay." He tugged the taller's jacket. "Proper dinner some other time, yeah?" He proposed as he pushed Chanyeol back to the pub.

'Some other time' would mean a week from now because Chanyeol had booked a trip to Japan. He never thought that he would regret booking that flight. It was a good idea an hour ago. It was the worst idea now.

He turned around, "You know what," He took off his scarf and put it around Baekhyun's neck. "Let's go get that proper dinner."

The smaller just stared back at him, startled and confused. "Where?" His voice muffled. The scarf covered his neck up to his nose.

"It'll be a 15-minute drive from here. My car's parked across the road." He grabbed Baekhyun's hands, pulling him. "Why aren't you wearing a much thicker jacket?" He questioned as they crossed the road. "It's snow season, Byun Baekhyun."

He looked back when he didn't hear a response from the smaller.

Baekhyun's eyes were in their intertwined hands, half of his face was hidden under Chanyeol's scarf but he could tell the smaller was smiling, his eyes turning crescent was enough indication. "I live nearby." He replied when they reached the parking lot. "I went out to grab a beer with my friend, but here I am." He added, hopping into Chanyeol's car. "You're not a murderer, are you?"

"I am, actually." The taller joked as he settled on the driver's seat. He glanced at Baekhyun and suddenly felt so attacked when the guy shoved his phone on Chanyeol's face.

"Smile for me, giant." He giggled, taking a photo even before Chanyeol could school his face. "Perfect." He chuckled. The said giant wanted to protest but the midget was smiling so hard as he typed a message. "My landlord, slash good friend - Junmyeon will hunt you down, so might as well change your mind about the murdering part."

The snow-covered the road already. Chanyeol reached out to put Baekhyun's seat belt on as the guy was busy typing on his phone. He managed to do it quickly and he was ready to lean back on his seat when he got a whiff of something. He bent forward again, sniffed, and realized that the interesting scent was coming from Baekhyun's hair. It smelled like strawberries mixed with Chanyeol's own perfume probably from his scarf. His eyes traveled from Baekhyun's hair to his ear, --even the mole on the shell of his ear was beautiful--, to his cheek, to his eyes.

The guy had stopped typing and had been observing him. Chanyeol cursed himself internally.

"Hi," Baekhyun whispered, expression unreadable.

Baekhyun said hi instead of asking what the fuck Chanyeol was doing, sniffing him like a fucking dog. Baekhyun was either too nice for this world or he was silently planning to flee.

"Hi." Chanyeol blurted out, much louder. He looked at Baekhyun's eyes one more time before he settled on the driver's seat again. He cleared his throat, eyes focusing on the road as he drove off.

Minutes passed, silence engulfed the car. Chanyeol hated the awkwardness. He wished he could drive faster but the road was slippery because of the snow.

"You're kinda weird." Baekhyun pondered after a while. "But I really hope you're not a psycho or something."

Chanyeol didn't know what to say. His brain-to-motor skills filter had failed earlier, sniffing Baekhyun's hair like a freak. He could say something now, deny the accusation but he chose to keep silent. He couldn't trust his brain-to-mouth filter now so he focused on the road instead.

"Chanyeol, you see that restaurant over there?" Baekhyun pointed at the western-inspired restaurant, Chanyeol nodded, because yes he was very familiar with that restaurant. It was three blocks away from Viva, it was where he had taken most of his dates. Chanyeol chose it because it was located near Viva, so he could always go back after the dinner date.

Chanyeol never brought any of his dates to Viva Polo. They were not special enough, no.

_But you're bringing Baekhyun there now._ A part of his brain teased.

_Yes, because Baekhyun is special._ Another part of his brain answered.

Chanyeol hated his brain.

Baekhyun was staring at him, maybe the guy didn't see him nod at his question, "Yes, I saw that. Why?" Chanyeol answered, referring to the restaurant.

Baekhyun shrugged, "I work there."

Chanyeol hit the brakes.

He stared at Baekhyun for a while. "I never saw you there." He mused.

"I'm manning the counter most of the time." Baekhyun extended his hands, showing his wrists, dried paint evident in some parts of his skin, mostly on his nails. "I paint so my hands are always, as the manager said-- dirty, so he assigned me at the counter. I worked there, part-time." He shared openly.

"You're an artist," Chanyeol mumbled in realization, his confused face instantly broke into a smile.

Chanyeol got himself an artist. Out of all the office type, and business-driven people he had blind dated, he got himself an artist. Chanyeol couldn't be any happier, he couldn't believe his luck.

"Yeah. Maybe you can call me that." Baekhyun smiled at him shyly. "The income is not stable, so I needed to work part-time at the restaurant to pay my rent."

The giant was still smiling like an idiot as he drove again. They finally pulled over in front of Viva Polo. "I never saw you there but have you-"

"Yeah. I saw you there. I'm the one tapping your card every time you pay for your dinner, Park Chanyeol."

Chanyeol could only stare at the artist. Seoul was, in fact, small after all. Baekhyun was three blocks away from Viva, and a block away from Jongin's pub. He could have seen Baekhyun if he squinted hard enough. "Thank you for showing up." He tried to look into Baekhyun's eyes but he was just too beautiful, Chanyeol focused on the guy's cute button nose instead. "I really, really wanted to know you ever since I saw you at that coffee shop months ago. If only I introduced myself, I could have sniffed your hair much, much earlier." He said with a serious face.

Baekhyun laughed, covering his face with his palms. Chanyeol could see the different colors covering some parts of the guy's hands. Baekhyun wasn't only an artist but he was art himself.

"Well, I'm here now." He smiled at Chanyeol. "I saw your failed dates with my own eyes. Your dates looked boring anyway but I'm here now, I'll date you instead." He pulled his scarf down, leaning towards Chanyeol. "And you can smell me anytime." He whispered into Chanyeol's ear like a secret. He pulled back, opening the car door, "Where are we?" He asked as he hopped off the car.

It took ten long seconds before Chanyeol could recover because what the fuck.

He was back to reality when he saw Baekhyun jumping up and down in front of Viva Polo. Chanyeol jumped out of the car and let him inside the restaurant before he could freeze to death.

*

*

*

Chanyeol decided to make the easiest pasta dish he could think of, preparing the ingredients fast and cooking even faster.

"Honestly, I consider instant ramyeon a proper dinner, you don't have to do this. It's already 2 am."

He ignored Baekhyun because he was pouring his heart out on the dish that he was cooking, shaking his head no because, "No instant food should be eaten in this place." He peeked at Baekhyun who was sitting on a high stool on the other side, elbows propped on the kitchen island, his face propped on his palm, pouting. He might have heard Baekhyun mumbled a mocking _whatever, Chef_ but he didn't react.

Chanyeol was in full concentration, focusing on the task at hand when Baekhyun spoke again. "You look so attractive with the sleeve of your hoodie rolled up to your elbows, Chef."

The said Chef only smiled to himself but chose not to comment because first of all, he didn't know how to respond to that. He knew how to flirt, sure, but he didn't know how to flirt back to someone as beautiful as Baekhyun. He didn't dare open his mouth because he might end up asking Baekhyun to marry him or something as equally shocking as that, so he stayed silent.

"So Chef Chanyeol, who gave you a new year's eve kiss earlier?"

"No one, you?" He put the cooked pasta in a strainer before he heated up another pan.

"I was in my apartment doing the last piece for my collection, I didn't notice the time until I heard the fireworks. If only I went to the pub on time, I could have given you a kiss."

There was no hint of flirtation on the guy's voice. If there was anything, it was a tiny hint of regret and disappointment. "Maybe next time."

Baekhyun hummed in response. "Could you put a lot of cheese in there, Chef?"

Originally, Chanyeol's version of Spaghetti Aglio wouldn't have a lot of cheese, just a small amount of grated parmesan but he didn't have the heart to refuse Baekhyun.

"Yeah. Okay." He nodded, walking around the island to retrieve some more cheese from the fridge.

"Chef, come here for a second, I'm gonna tell you a secret."

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun in confusion. There was nobody in there but the two of them, so he didn't understand why he needed to walk all the way around the island again to Baekhyun's direction. He complied nonetheless.

The taller walked over and stood in front of Baekhyun and for once, the smaller didn't need to look up to Chanyeol because he was sitting on a really high stool.

When Baekhyun didn't say anything, he wondered what the secret was about. The taller leaned forward, expecting Baekhyun to whisper something in his ear, but the smaller tilted his head, catching Chanyeol's lips with his own.

It was a kiss too short but Chanyeol felt it. He felt Baekhyun's lips on his, a brief moment, too quick, but with purpose. The painter's hand caressed his jaw, moving down to the back of his neck. Chanyeol thought Baekhyun would pull him closer but the guy's hand stopped on his shoulder before he gently pushed Chanyeol.

Baekhyun looked at him, "That's a secret. Don't tell anyone." He smiled coyly, almost serious.

Chanyeol chuckled, "You kissed me." He pointed out, ignoring every muscle in his body that yearns for him to move closer to Baekhyun because he couldn't do that. Not yet.

"No, I didn't." The smaller shook his head, acting innocent. "I don't do kisses on a first date Park Chanyeol."

The smaller pronounced his name clearly and ended it with a pout. The longer he stared at Baekhyun, the more he noticed the pout was permanent, and the more he wanted to kiss it.

In the end, Chanyeol nodded. "Whatever you say, Byun Baekhyun." Walking back to the stove, he thought about how Baekhyun could kiss him and just get away with it. He wished he could do the same.

*

They ate in silence aside from the occasional _hmmm_, and _this taste so good Chef,_ and _Can I come here again?_ and _Will you cook for me again?_ and the _Where have you been all my life Chanyeol?_ To which Chanyeol hadn't replied properly because he might've been staring at Baekhyun's lips most of the time thinking _holy shit those lips kissed me a while ago. _

Baekhyun shared that he hadn't been in a relationship since he graduated from uni, to which Chanyeol reacted rather violently, refusing to believe because,

_"What? Are you serious? You looking like that, telling me you haven't been in a relationship in almost five years, you're kidding, right? Hasn't anyone approached you? Haven't anyone noticed you? Haven't they seen youuu?"_

_"Shut up, Chanyeol. It took you almost a year to see me again. And stop looking at me like that. I don't know why I'm telling you this but I did one night stands, okay? The last one I think was a year ago but that's beside the point. The point is I'm busy and I don't want meaningless relationships anymore."_

_"Neither do I so let's take this seriously Baekhyun."_

_"Yes. Let's do that. Pour me some more wine, Park Chanyeol."_

The dinner went smoothly until he received a message from Kasper. The message containing a photo. A screenshot of his flight details. He managed to book the same flight as Chanyeol with a caption: _See you later bro. I'm bringing my cousin with me._

He mentioned it to Baekhyun a little later when they were done washing the dishes and already sitting on the sofa inside his office on the second floor, waiting for the sun to rise. Baekhyun reacted rather sadly, _"I thought we're doing this seriously, why are you leaving me Chanyeol? Do you have a girlfriend in Japan or something? Is she prettier than me? Wait until you see me with eyeliner on, you will lose your mind, I'm telling you."_

_"No, I don't have a girlfriend in Japan, Baekhyun. Maybe if you stopped being a caveman and went to the pub much much earlier, I wouldn't even think about g-"_

_"I can't believe you're blaming me, Park. And this isn't wine I'm holding, this doesn't taste like wine, did you trick me? What's this?"_

_"That's a bottle of tequila, Baekhyun."_

_"Why am I drinking this? Where is the wine? Give it to me, Park Chan."_

_"We drank_ _ the wine one hour ago, Byun Baek, and you rummaged through Jongdae's stock of liquors and stole that, yelling tequila sunrise while waiting for the sun to rise."_

_"Whatever, Yoda. So, why are you leaving me, exactly?"_

*

They fell asleep on the sofa, Baekhyun lying on top of Chanyeol. It was 10 in the morning when they woke up to the sound of Chanyeol's ringtone. Baekhyun tried to untangle his limbs from Chanyeol's, muttering a quiet _we missed the fucking sunrise and my mouth tastes like shit and my head hurts Yeol, am I dying? I think I'm already dead._

Baekhyun was alive and Chanyeol drove him home.

Chanyeol was standing in front of Baekhyun's apartment, the smaller's forehead resting on the taller's collarbone.

"I would like to tell you a secret right now but I'm sure my mouth will taste like sour milk." The smaller mumbled, his hands circling the taller's waist. Chanyeol hugged him back thinking how lucky he was because 99% of people were in a default bad mood when they were hungover but Baekhyun was just being clingy. Baekhyun's hands traveled from his waist to his stomach, touching his abs through his hoodie. It took a lot of self-control for Chanyeol not to shove Baekhyun to the door and kiss the hell out of him. "I just kneaded your abs," he said casually.

"Yeah, I noticed."

The smaller tilted his head upward, staring at him, eyes sincere and pleading. "Come back to me quickly, Chanyeol."

He almost canceled his flight.

* * *

Their drunk promise about being serious about each other was going so well, it was Baekhyun who reminded him about it when they were both sober, saying_ "I really want to take this seriously, Chanyeol."_ Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun dead in the eyes and told him he wanted the same thing.

They'd been dating for a while. Baekhyun invited Chanyeol to his exhibit which would be on the last day of February. He offered to drive the artist to the venue but he declined, saying he needed to be there way earlier. The taller dressed up nicely, tucking his light blue dress shirt. He even let Jongdae style his hair.

"_Side part, slick back_." His friend announced, rubbing his palms together like he was about to do some big makeover. "_It's about time." _Jongdae nodded to himself._ "The puppy must see your forehead, Park." _He went on.

"_The fuck do you mean? My forehead looks fine, thanks."_

_"Exactly."_

He arrived at the venue an hour late, thanks to Jongdae who spilled some hair products on his dress shirt. He needed to go back home and change. He already brought his own car to get there fast but thanks to the Wednesday traffic, he was still late. He hoped Baekhyun like him enough to forgive him. He even forgot his suit. It was all Jongdae's fault.

He entered the exhibit hall only to be visually attacked by Baekhyun's paintings. He was unarmored. Unprepared. He didn't expect Baekhyun to be this good.

He knew that Baekhyun was good, but that would be an understatement now. Actually, saying Baekhyun was good was almost an insult because Baekhyun was so fucking great, Chanyeol couldn’t believe his eyes. He stared at the pamphlet that he was holding to double-check if all of these paintings were really from Baekhyun alone, and yes, they were. Chanyeol folded the pamphlet and put it carefully in the pocket of his trousers. He decided to keep it. It had Byun Baekhyun's name on it.

The venue was crowded. He saw a lot of people buying some paintings outright without asking about the price. They were also people who asked about the inspiration and the story behind a painting to which the staff could only give vague answers which was really understandable because they were not the one who painted it. Baekhyun did. Baekhyun fucking did. Baekhyun. The one he was currently dating, Baekhyun. The guy he watched a movie with last week, Byun Baekhyun. Chanyeol wanted to kneel down and yell his gratitude to the universe.

He looked around, appreciating every canvas when he heard someone talking behind him.

_"That's him."_

_"Are you sure? The hair is kinda different."_

_"Look at his shoulders. It's him. I've measured it._"

Chanyeol turned around. Although he wasn't sure if they were talking about him, it was obvious enough when he saw two young girls staring. One girl bowed to him and pulled the other away. They looked alarmed and kinda scared so Chanyeol smiled at them. It might've given the other girl some confidence, she stepped forward, _"Hi, are you Mr. Byun's boyfriend?_" She asked excitedly.

It caught Chanyeol off guard, he wasn't able to answer because the girl got pulled by her friend away from him while bowing and muttering apologies. Chanyeol didn't know what to say anyway. He hadn't called Baekhyun his boyfriend and neither did Baekhyun. They hadn't talked about it, and Chanyeol thought that it was too early to ask Baekhyun about where they stand.

He strolled around absent-mindedly, still pondering about what those girls were talking about when he caught sight of Baekhyun. The guy was already staring at him, openly checking him out. He did the same.

He walked over to the artist while patiently rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. Baekhyun was wearing makeup, he could tell. It was very light aside from the dark shade on his eyelids. He looked so pretty.

So many pieces of art, but nothing could top the artist's face. He was simply the most beautiful art here.

"_Hold on. Stop_." Baekhyun said, pointing at the taller's arms. A few people looked at them curiously, they both ignored them.

Chanyeol stood still, arm length away from the artist. "_What? Why?" _

"_Are you doing it on purpose_?" Baekhyun asked calmly but his facial expression was already accusing the taller.

"_What are you talking about?"_ Chanyeol retorted, eyebrows knitted in confusion. He really didn't know what the artist was talking about and he was easily distracted because wow, Baekhyun's eyes were really something, seeing it up close.

Baekhyun grabbed his hand harshly and pulled him into the hallway leading to the restroom. He let the taller's hand go when they were inside. Chanyeol clearly saw that Baekhyun's shoulder was so tensed and he, for the first time, was scared of Baekhyun.

Baekhyun kicked the door of every stall and after finding all of it empty, he walked over to where Chanyeol was standing, the giant was completely frozen in place, Baekhyun reached out behind him to lock the main door.

Baekhyun sighed loudly, resting his forehead against Chanyeol's chest.

"_Are you mad at me? What did I do?"_ Chanyeol asked in a gentle tone holding his breath. His heart was beating fast. It was his first time seeing Baekhyun like this, completely out of character.

Baekhyun sobbed, Chanyeol panicked.

"_Wha_-"

"_You're driving me crazy, Chanyeol_." He whimpered before pushing Chanyeol, pinning him against the door. "_I have a lot of secrets to tell right now. Are you ready?"_ He asked, but Chanyeol could only blink in response.

Baekhyun kissed him hurriedly. Like there was a ticking time bomb inside him. Chanyeol's heart was beating faster now for a different reason. Their first kiss happened two months ago, they hadn't kissed since then.

Baekhyun's lips tasted like strawberries and Chanyeol wasn't able to stop himself from moaning when Baekhyun parted his legs, humping his thigh once.

"_You_." He pulled Chanyeol down. "_Looking like this._" He kneaded Chanyeol's abs and bit his ear. "_Walking towards me._" He licked Chanyeol's jaw, "_Rolling your sleeves like you're going to do something to me_." He bit Chanyeol's collarbones over the dress shirt. "_Like you're gonna touch me."_ He guided Chanyeol's hands and placed them on his hips. "_So touch me."_ He said with a voice so fucking seductive, Chanyeol quickly complied.

He pulled Baekhyun closer by his waist, their crotch aligning. He moved his hands down to Baekhyun's ass, feeling it against his palms before squeezing it so hard. Baekhyun threw his head back, clinging his arms around Chanyeol's neck, biting his lower lip, and moaning so loud. Chanyeol was so sure it was loud enough to be heard on the other side of the door.

"_Baek, we can't do this here_." He said but kissed Baekhyun just as hard when the smaller pulled him down again and he quickly complied when the smaller asked him to carry him to the sink.

The smaller was seated on top of the sink, legs parted and circled around the taller's waist. "_We absolutely can't._ " He whispered between kisses. _"We should stop._" He spluttered while undoing the buttons of Chanyeol's dress shirt, licking at the now exposed collarbone.

The taller could only moan, enjoying the wet tongue on his neck and seeing his own pleasured face on the mirror behind Baekhyun. He moved his hand tracing the smaller's spine, up, up to his nape and tugging his hair, nipping and biting his jaw.

They both froze when they heard the doorknob being turned. A knock followed.

They both cursed at the same time. Baekhyun quickly buttoning Chanyeol's dress shirt, luckily, only three buttons were undone, while the taller tried to fix Baekhyun's hair.

The knocking became urgent, followed by a loud curse, then followed by heavy footsteps walking away.

The smaller pulled him by his neck, "_Did you bring your car_?" The taller nodded. "_Good, because I can't look at you anymore without jumping you so please just wait for me in the car."_ He climbed down from the sink without meeting the taller's eyes.

They walked out of the restroom with their hands intertwined, shoulders bumping. Baekhyun squeezed his hands before they parted, the smaller walking back to the hall, Chanyeol to the exit.

They didn't talk on the way home. Chanyeol drove slowly, Baekhyun on the passenger's seat was quiet after saying "_Your place_." when he climbed into the car.

They had sex that night. After Baekhyun said his apologies for yanking Chanyeol into the restroom, saying he was so turned on when the taller rolled up his sleeves, and that he hadn't had sex for almost a year. All the factors accumulated and he completely lost it.

Chanyeol remedied Baekhyun's sexual frustrations after that, obeying all of his requests, be it _go slow, a little harder, do that again, fuck go faster faster Chanyeol,_ he did everything the smaller asked. Baekhyun's loud moan, digging nails on his back, biting his shoulder and _fuck I'm so fucking close Yeol_ were more than enough to drive him to the edge. Baekhyun with his beautiful marked neck, eyebrows furrowed and mouth slightly open when he came apart was the best view Chanyeol had ever seen.

He woke up the next morning to the sound of Baekhyun's voice screaming profanities. He rushed to where the smaller's voice was and found him in his kitchen, fighting a frying pan with a ladle. He was making pancakes. He ignored the burnt smell and focused instead on Baekhyun's thighs. His old t-shirt with holes on the side wasn't really doing a good job of covering the smaller's body. He walked over and turned the stove off. He lifted Baekhyun up, ignoring his protests, and throwing him back to his bed. Baekhyun belonged to Chanyeol's bed.

"Chanyeol in case you didn't notice, I was making breakfast. I'm hungry. Please, get off me."

"And here I thought you were making pancakes for me."

"Its enough for the both of us you fucking idiot stop be- wait. What pancakes? Those are omelets, you blind! Get off!"

Chanyeol didn't move an inch, still pinning Baekhyun down, hugging the living daylights out of him, sniffing all the strawberry scent from his hair.

Baekhyun nearly died from gagging when he tried to swallow his own cooking. Chanyeol cooked a real omelet to console him but the smaller only got offended because _my omelet is kinda edible Park you didn't even try it._ Soon enough he was cheerful again after eating the real food Chanyeol cooked.

When he volunteered to wash the dishes, Chanyeol stayed behind him.

_"I'm not going near your stove again Park you can actually leave I know how to wash a pan."_

_"I'm ogling your thighs, Byun."_

_"I can't believe you're having dirty thoughts this early, did I turn you into a pervert overnight?" _He snarled but pulled Chanyeol by the arm and kissed him slowly.

_"Is this another secret to keep?" _The taller asked between kisses.

_"No." _Wet hands slipped under his shirt_. "You can tell everyone."_

* * *

Their first exchange of _I love you_'s didn't happen before sex. It didn't happen during or after. It didn't happen during their romantic dinner dates, neither during their movie marathons. They didn't say it even when they were both drunk by the Han river, with Baekhyun singing his heart out while Chanyeol was paying for the chicken they had ordered, briefly explaining to the delivery guy that Baekhyun was, in fact, fine and not broken-hearted.

Their first exchange of _I love you_'s happened one Friday afternoon, on a humid summer day, both completely sober. Baekhyun with a severe case of dark circles, droopy-er eyes and unmanageable hair with two unfinished paintings abandoned at home and miserably behind his deadline showed up in Viva Polo holding a tub of strawberry flavored ice cream asking Chanyeol to come up to his office on the second floor for a second. Chanyeol knew it wouldn't only be for a second, with the size of the ice cream tub that he was certain Baekhyun would force him to finish with him.

Chanyeol was seated on the sofa, Baekhyun sitting on his lap facing him and rapidly spoon-feeding him because _the ice cream will wait for no one it will melt Chanyeol hurry up_. Half a tub later, Chanyeol asked for a break, lying on the sofa and resting his head on the armrest.

"Wow, Jongdae was right. I really look like shit._"_

He opened his eyes and watched as Baekhyun tried to fix his hair, looking at his reflection on the glass window. The sun hits his face just on the right angle, accentuating his features.

"You're beautiful, Baek. How many times should I tell you that? And don't listen to Jongdae. He's the one who looks like shit. Not you."

"I only look beautiful sometimes. Especially WITH makeup on. But not now. Look at me. Actually, don't look."

"I'll have you know that I woke up one morning because you drooled so much on my neck I nearly drowned but I couldn't get mad at you because even then, you looked beautiful. With dried drool on your cheeks, Baek. And I prefer you without makeup, honestly. So stop this nonsense, you're beautiful. Fucking ethereal, that's what you are."

Baekhyun didn't respond but he walked over to the sofa and slowly positioned himself on top of Chanyeol. They were lying there quietly, Baekhyun's head resting on top of the taller's chest.

"Chanyeol," Baekhyun called after a while, the taller hummed in response. "Can I tell you something?"

"Baek, I swear if you say you look like shit one more time, I'm gonna castrate Jongdae in front of you-"

_"I love you."_ he breathed out. "_I love you, Chanyeol."_

The taller kissed him on the forehead before he said it back a hundred times.

* * *

They broke up, Autumn of the same year. It happened after their fight about Baekhyun's latest project. Apart from his exhibit that would be held last week of October, Baekhyun accepted an offer to paint on a huge customized canvas that would be displayed on a lobby of a hotel his ex from uni was currently working at.

He accepted the offer because aside from it being a great opportunity, he really wanted to paint a big ass canvas that would cover the sad, plain, white wall.

Chanyeol didn't take it very well after hearing about it and after seeing the ex in flesh-- hotel manager who personally asked Baekhyun, a guy from Baekhyun's past-- Kris Wu.

Chanyeol opposed the idea very much when Baekhyun told him that he must work at one of the hotel room in the lobby because the canvas was customized and huge. Really huge there was no way the artist could bring those to his workroom in his apartment.

They fought and fought and fought for two days, exchanging hurtful words they didn't mean.

They stopped seeing, they stopped texting.

That went on for two weeks. No communication at all. Nothing.

Chanyeol already assumed they already broke up and that Baekhyun might've gotten back with his ex at that time. Back to that Chinese Guy.

Jongdae told him he was insecure. He denied that. It wasn't true. How could he feel insecure when he was almost sure he was taller than Chinese guy. And definitely more handsome. Chinese guy might be richer but Chanyeol was doing well. More than well if you asked him.

So why did he feel threatened when he learned that Baekhyun would work at the hotel every day with his beautiful colors and brushes, with his beautiful face and hands, and possibly see his ex-- Kris Wu Chinese guy-- every day and it fucking scared him and it had been messing with his fucking mind for the past two weeks and Baekhyun would start his project at the hotel tomorrow and his exhibit would be three days from now.

_Stop being so insecure and go get your puppy or something I'm so sick of seeing your depressed face you were ugly enough to begin with so stop sulking and do something, Park. _

Chanyeol didn't do anything. It was Baekhyun's first day at the hotel. He didn't do anything. Jongdae said he was stupid. He was starting to believe Jongdae.

* * *

The night before the exhibit, Baekhyun barged into his apartment, wearing one of his supreme hoodies. He wondered how many hoodies did Baekhyun stole but that was not important.

The point was, Chanyeol wanted it back. The hoodie. And the one wearing it.

Baekhyun walked angrily around his apartment.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting my things back."

He walked out of Chanyeol's bedroom holding a ton of clothes. Chanyeol saw another one of his hoodies folded on top of the pile but he didn't comment on it.

Chanyeol thought Baekhyun was gonna walk out but he only dropped the clothes near the door and stomped toward the bathroom, shutting the door closed. After 5 quick seconds, he opened the door and walked out holding his toothbrush and his strawberry shampoo.

He was holding his strawberry shampoo.  
Not the fucking shampoo.  
Chanyeol had been using that shampoo.

"If you're gonna take that back," He pointed at the shampoo, "Then I'm gonna take THAT back._"_ He said calmly, pointing at the hoodie Baekhyun was wearing.

"Fuck no! This is mine!"

"That's two times bigger than your size, Baek. That's mine."

"Don't Baek me!_"_ Baekhyun arranged the pile of clothes on the floor, putting the shampoo on top.

"That violet hoodie, that's mine, Baekhyun. Leave that. As well as the one you're wearing."

"Fine." Baekhyun kicked the pile of clothes, the shampoo spilled on the wall. "Take that." He was still holding his toothbrush and he used it to point at his things on the floor. _"_All of that. I don't fucking need any of that."

He opened the door and stepped out. He was already outside when he turned around and faced Chanyeol, his tears threatening to fall.

"How did you survive two weeks without me, Chanyeol?" Baekhyun cried in front of him and he didn't know what to do.

Chanyeol stayed mute, couldn't quite absorb what he had done, what he did to Baekhyun. He knew he needed to fix this but he was at lost he didn't know where to start and what to say and he hated himself for letting this happen.

"If you're free tomorrow, please come to the exhibit." Baekhyun's last words before closing the door and walking away.

Chanyeol stared at the closed door blankly, before it was pushed open, a flying toothbrush entered hitting the lamp on the living room. The door closed again. Silence followed.

He scanned the room seeing pieces of Baekhyun everywhere. The spilled shampoo on the wall. Clothes scattered on the floor. The apartment smelled like strawberries. The apartment smelled like Baekhyun.

The next morning he received a text from Jongdae asking if he needed him to style his hair. He said no. He sulked, sulked, sulked. He missed Baekhyun. He missed his hair. He missed his beautiful hands. The hands that didn't know how to cook for shit but could do outstanding art. His beautiful teeth biting Chanyeol's shoulder, his nails leaving marks everywhere, and his voice when he was singing in the shower.

He was staring at his phone absently when he noticed an SNS app that Baekhyun installed a few months ago. "_Unlike Facebook, you post only pictures here, Chanyeol, listen to me. I made you an account, look. Of course, you have to follow me so you could see my selfies. Just kidding, I don’t post my own pictures here. Just my paintings. A lot of my followers don't know what I look like. We'll unless they've been to my exhibit or something. But you, you need a display picture, hold on, I'm gonna take a photo of you, Chanyeol stop movi- Yeol. Look here. No drop that peace sign. No finger heart. No. Just look at me. Good. There you go. So handsome."_

He opened the app in curiosity. His display picture was so ugly but the one that caught his attention was the picture posted there. It was a photo of his and Baekhyun's hands, intertwined with a caption: “_**What do you all know about proper hand-holding**_?” He almost heard Baekhyun's sassy voice upon reading it. SehunnieCutie had commented a lot of heart emojis while KimJongDaetheGreat commented a hand and an eggplant.

He got over a hundred 'followers' but only one in the 'following'. He clicked it, it was BBH_Art92. Baekhyun had a lot of followers and Chanyeol observed that he really didn't post anything aside from his paintings and schedules. Not only his but also other artists' exhibits. He scrolled down until one particular photo caught his eyes. It was noticeable enough because of all the photos there, this one was in black and white. It wasn’t a schedule or a painting. It was a photo of Chanyeol. He was lying face down on the mattress in Baekhyun's bedroom. It showed only his bare shoulders, his nape, and Baekhyun's beautiful hands buried in Chanyeol's hair, with a one-word caption: "_**Mine**_". It was posted just last month.

Chanyeol scrolled down some more, finding photos of him, never his face, just parts of his body, all in black and white. He scrolled down, and down until he saw the first black and white picture. It was posted January 1st, Chanyeol was cooking their first meal together. It showed only his back and the pan he was holding. "**_Posting this in black and white because none of you deserve to see him in HD. He smells really nice and I think I'm inlike with his deep voice. Yall can't see his face but I'm telling you he's so handsome and I'm about to kiss him now."_**

* * *

Chanyeol rushed to Jongdae's apartment at 8 in the evening.

"_Where are you going?" _He asked when he saw his friend all dressed up.

  
"_To the exhibit of course. I was invited and unlike you, I'm going because Baekhyun is my friend and he's miserable and he needs my moral support. And I'm not stupid so I'm going. Why are you even here, Park?"_

  
_ "Fix my hair."_

They arrived at the venue two hours late. He would like to blame it on Jongdae but this time it was his fault.

_"What the fuck do you mean you're gonna wait here? Aren't you going inside?"_

  
_ "I just need a momen- No. Let go of me, Dae. Don't drag me- Ouch. Fuck."_

  
_ "Fine. Whatever. You fucking stay here like a moron you are. I even styled your fucking hair. Fucking idiot. I'm going."_

He stood just outside the hall, practicing his speech facing the wall. Baekhyun deserved a long-ass apology and he will fucking deliver. He won't sleep one more night without Baekhyun beside him.

"_Well, that was a first."_  
_ "Yeah. It's always a burst of colors."_  
_ "He did a spring theme last time. But never a face."_  
_ "Although it's kinda abstract, you could still see the face, it's the closest to portrait we'll ever get."_

But first he had to stop eavesdropping and just focus because holy shit people were already exiting the hall and he couldn't seem to fucking concentrate because his phone kept on vibrating.

From: Jongdae  
_ You said you're coming, what, did you trip on your way here and die?_

From: Jongdae  
_ Did you actually die?_

From: Jongdae  
_ Actually, go and kill yourself. Baekhyun looked like shit. Depressed because of some stupid oaf who can't get his shit together _

From: Jongdae  
_ The oaf is you in case you're too stupid to absorb that_

From: Jongdae  
_ Okay, I told Baek that he does look like shit. I told him three times so come here and tell him that he's beautiful or ethereal or some equal shit and tell him u love him and ask him to take your stupid ass back and u can even insult me and say that im just blind stupid ignorant that can't see his beauty im giving u the permission to insult me Park come here before i poke him and say he's so fucking ugly for the fourth time with so much conviction he will believe me_

From: Jongdae  
_ Holy shit cganyyeol come her e quick _

From: Jongdae  
_ U need ti see thsu asshole cone here ur a fckin luck ym an Bakyub love s u_

Chanyeol walked inside the hall without a speech, his mind was blank, but he was nervous and he was in a hurry and he didn't know why.

"Hi, Good evening sir. Every painting with a ribbon on the side were already sold, but there are a few left." Chanyeol nodded and accepted the pamphlet. "Oh, but aside from the painting on the left corner. That wasn't for sale."

Chanyeol walked straight to the left corner, his guts told him so.

There he saw his own face on the canvas. It didn't have an actual outline of a face, but that was his eyes, his nose, and his lips. That was him. Nobody could convince him otherwise.

"I'm giving that to you. Please have it." Baekhyun was standing behind him. "Hang it in your room or give it to your mom, your call. It's yours." Baekhyun said without a trace of any emotion.

Chanyeol was already crying, probably looking so ugly in contrast to his face on the canvas. He suddenly felt so stupid and helpless, he dropped down on his knees and cried.

"Shit. Get up. At least cry in private Chanyeol get the fuck up." Baekhyun kicked his knee but he didn't feel anything, he was completely numb all over.

He looked up, Baekhyun's tears were about to fall too. "Baek. I'm sorry. Please. I don't know what to say. Hold on, I just," He sobbed some more, pitying himself because he couldn't even form a proper sentence and Baekhyun deserved a three hundred words essay full of apologies. "Baek, I love you. I love you so m-."

Baekhyun kicked him one more time. "Shut up and get up."

He got up and almost lost his balance when Baekhyun yanked him down to kiss him. But the smaller pulled back with a disgusted face before he took his time to wipe Chanyeol's snot. Once the taller was all clean, he pulled him down to kiss him again.

They ignored every gasp, every look, every _that's his muse_, every _oh that's him on the painting. _What they couldn't ignore though was Jongdae's high pitched squeal. He sounded like a dying elephant.

"Just like in the movies, both of you. From start to finish, it's a fucking movie, wow." He clapped three times. "Now go home and do that long, rough make-up sex, that's always on the plot. Go." He whispered rather loudly, a few people who stayed to watch absolutely heard it.

It was long make-up sex, but it wasn't rough. It was slow, gentle and full of _I love you_'s and _you're so stupid_ and_ I missed you_’s and a little later with _please do that again, Yeol. Yes. Oh. God_. They did it four times that night before they passed out in exhaustion.

They talked the next morning. Chanyeol finally said a proper apology and Baekhyun proposed a solution.

_"You don't need to worry. Why worry in the first place? Don't be stupid, Yeol. Please."_

  
_ "No Kris is taller but do I look like I care? I love you. I love your dick so much, Chanyeol. I love you."_

  
_ "How about you visit me there. Anytime you want. Chanyeol I'm serious, I want you to visit me there and watch me while I do all the brushing and color mixing, I'll let you hold a brush, you can even try painting, not on the canvas though, maybe on my thigh or something since you're so obsessed with my body."_

  
_ "We can make out and have sex there. We'll lock the door."_

  
_ "If you bring me food, I might ride you."_

  
_ "You know, that one you cooked with a lot of cheese. Spaghetti Allie or something."_

  
_ "What? Alo? Spaghetti alileo? Yes. That's what I said. Aleo. Shut up, Yeol. It sounds the same to me."_

They had sex there as promised. The painting was abstract enough for people not to notice Baekhyun's butt imprinted on one side and Chanyeol's elbow on the other side. To say that those sex were wild would be an understatement.

*

"It's finished, Yeol. I did that. It's a huge painting, I can't feel my arms."

  
"Yes. You did it, with my help, don't forget that."

  
"Yes. Thank you for slamming me into that, my butt made it more beautiful."

  
"You're beautiful."

  
"Thank you. I love you"

  
"I love you too. Move in with me?"

  
"Yes. I'll move in with you if and only if you let me raise a cat. Let's raise a cat together, Yeol."

  
"Yes, let's do that, Baek."

  
"Maybe get married after a year or two? What do you think?"

  
"I completely agree. Let's get married, anywhere and anytime you want, Baek."

  
"Okay! Let's do that! Pass me the wine, Yeol."

  
"Here you go."

  
"Ew. What the fuck. What's this? This isn't wine Yeol, did you trick me?"

* * *

end


End file.
